5 Fresh Dining Room Layout Ideas

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The small pieces — and the addition of a desk — allow Radhakrishnan to use the room as a supplementary home office, and offer an added bonus, as well: "Once or twice a year, when I DO want a traditional dining room for a holiday meal," she says, " I can put the small furniture pieces to the side and move in the big kitchen table." Photo by Raji Radhakrishnan.

The small pieces — and the addition of a desk — allow Radhakrishnan to use the room as a supplementary home office, and offer an added bonus, as well: "Once or twice a year, when I DO want a traditional dining room for a holiday meal," she says, " I can put the small furniture pieces to the side and move in the big kitchen table." Photo by Raji Radhakrishnan.

By:
Susan Kleinman

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Close your eyes and picture a Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving: Grandpa carving the turkey at one end of the long wooden table, Grandma at the other end, seated on one of 10 matching chairs. For a long time, that set-up was synonymous with "dining room." But the American family has changed since Rockwell last put down his paintbrush — and American dining rooms are changing, too. "People are entertaining in a much more informal and creative way today," says San Francisco-based designer April Sheldon. "They're mixing different patterns in their dishes and putting branches and shells on their dining tables. The traditional mahogany table just isn't working with today's lifestyle."

So, what is working in today's dining rooms? Mixable, matchable furniture in unusual materials and unexpected finishes, making a style statement by breaking all the rules.

Like many busy people today, designer Raji Radhakrishnan and her family usually eat dinner in the kitchen. "I almost never use my dining room for sit-down meals," says Radhakrishnan, owner of Raji RM Design (www.rajirm.com) in Brambleton, Va. "We're much more likely to use our dining room for high tea or cocktail parties, so I have set the space up for that. The table is fairly small and has a sofa behind it, with two antique Bergeres with caned seats facing it. There are some small end tables and I bring in other small tables when I want to."

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Although this table provides plenty of space for entertaining, clear chairs and a streamlined design take up little space visually. A round table is always a good option as more or less chairs can be added to accommodate guests. Photo by John Casado.

Although this table provides plenty of space for entertaining, clear chairs and a streamlined design take up little space visually. A round table is always a good option as more or less chairs can be added to accommodate guests. Photo by John Casado.

While wooden tables are still the most readily available, tables in more unusual materials are increasingly popular — and can really set the tone for a dramatic dining space. For this dining room in Woodstock, N.Y., designer April Sheldon (www.aprilsheldondesign.com) set a round Calacatta Oro marble tabletop on a base of bleached, rift-cut white oak. The table is surrounded by clear, modern chairs by Philippe Starck for a look that's fresh and sexy.

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Put an enclosed patio or sunroom to work as a light-filled dining space. Photo by John Casado.

Put an enclosed patio or sunroom to work as a light-filled dining space. Photo by John Casado.

"The key to this kind of look," says Sheldon, "is to start with a great table and then find the chairs that play off the material or attitude of the table." And once you've spent the time to select a table in an unusual material, be sure to show it off: "There are so many beautiful place mats available today," Sheldon says. "And you can also place the dishes right down on the table. There's no reason to cover a beautiful table with a tablecloth."

If you have a screened-in porch or sunroom, consider using it for casual dining. To make this windowed room meal-ready, designer April Sheldon placed antique Chinese scholar benches on either side of a table made from an ironwood platform from India. The backless benches are surprisingly comfortable, she says — and they are easier to get in and out of than benches with high backs. And because there is no upholstery, spills are never a concern.

You could create a similar feeling in an indoor dining room, too, says Sheldon; just make sure the furniture is not only beautiful, but comfortable, as well. "People really like to linger at the table," she says. "It's all about feeling good, relaxing and enjoying good food."

Sometimes, a single long table really is the best option for a particular room. But that doesn't mean you're stuck with matching chairs.

"In one dining room we did," says New York-based interior designer Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz (www.bnodesign.com), "the owner had a very long dining table. Having 14 chairs around it made the room too busy with legs. Our solution was to select four high back chairs that divide the table in two sections, and then to design a banquette that was repeated four times. The host and hostess sit in the middle chairs, so that they have access to all guests."

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Designer Teal Michel replaced the rarely used large traditional dining table for two smaller glass-top tables to allow for more casual get-togethers.

Designer Teal Michel replaced the rarely used large traditional dining table for two smaller glass-top tables to allow for more casual get-togethers.

If you'd like to recreate this look on a modest budget, you needn't have benches and chairs custom-made. Many furniture stores sell settees that could work quite nicely at a table; just make sure you select pieces that coordinate well with the upholstered chairs so the arrangement looks thought out, not thrown together.

If you can't decide whether to go for one big table or several little ones, why not do both — at the same time? "The most unusual table that I have done," says New York-based interior designer Roderick N. Shade, "is one that was a big square, but came apart to be four smaller tables to seat more folks in the dining room. The best part was that it was a very simple parsons-style table in a bright red lacquer surrounded by Chippendale-style chairs."

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